Territory



. (No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. M. BROWNING. MAGAZINE FIREARM.

Patented June 6, 1893.

2. t e e .n s u .e e .n s 3 GM NVB Mm Wm F OE RN Bm .G MA ...uM n. d o M0 m PatentedJ'une 6, 1893.

lllllllllllll IIII.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

. J. M. BROWNING.

l MAGAZINE FIREARM. N0. 499,005.

Patented June 6, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I JOHN M. BROWNING, OF OGDEN, UTAH TERRITORY, ASSIGNOR TO THE WINCHESTERREPEATING ARMSv COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CON- NEOTIOUT.

MAGAZINE-FIREARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part AO'- Letters Patent No. 499,005, dated June6, 1893. Application tiled September 19, 1892. Serial No. 446,245. (Nomodel.)

T a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN M. BROWNING, of Ogden, in the countyof Weberand Territory of Utah, have invented a new Improvement inMagazine-Firearms; and I do herebydeclare the following, when taken inconnection with accompanying drawings and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a longitudinal section of a magazine-lire-arm embodying thisinvention, with the parts in closed or normal position; Fig. 2, alongitudinal section of the receiver, barrel and magazine, with themagazine removed to show face View of one of the ribs; Fig. 3, the sameas Fig. 1, showing the part-s in the position of the breech open; Fig.a, the same as in Fig. 3, showing the position of the cartridge as itadvances into the barreL'under the action of the advancing breech-piece;Fig. 5, a top View of the receiver, the magazine removed to show topview ofy the ribs; Fig. 6, a transverse section, cutting on line of Fig.3;Fig. 7, a transverse section, cutting on line -Qa of Fig. 5; Fig. 8,the same as Fig. 1, representing the parts as approaching the rear oropening movement to illustrate the operation of the lever to raise thecarrier; Fig. 9, the same as Fig. 8, showing the parts as they approachthe closed position to illustrate the operation of the lever to depressthe carrier; Fig. 10,a transverse section cutting on line .frof Fig. 8;Fig. 11, a transverse section cutting on line :Jax of Fig. 9; Fig. 12, a

longitudinal section cutting on line y-y ofv Fig. 8, looking down.

This invention relates to that class of magazine re-arms, in which themagazine is arranged beneath the barrel, the barrel and the magazineboth opening toward the rear into the receiver, and in which thebreech-piece is arranged to move longitudinally backward and forward,and with a carrier hung below the breech-piece, and so as to swing onits pivot up and down, its free end toward the magazine, and so thatacartridge passes from the magazine onto the carrier, to be raised bythecarrier when the breech-piece is opened,

so as to bring the point of the cartridge at the rear ofthe barrel, andpresent the head of the cartridge forward of the front face of the openbreech-piece, in' order that in the closing movement ot' thebreech-piece, the breech-piece will force the cartridge from the carrierforward into the barrel. Parts of the invention relate particularly toarms of this class in which the longitudinally reciprocatingbreech-piece is operated by means of a lever, which is hinged by itsupper end to the breech-piece, and extends downward through the receiverto form a handle by which the lever may be turned, combined with avertically movin g bolt, which locks the breech-piece in the closedposition, but inconnection wit-h the saidMlevei, so that in the firstpart of the downward oropening movement of the lever, the said bolt iswithdrawn'from engagement with the breech-piece, and the pivot ofengage- Y ment between the leverand bolt then serves as a fulcrumuponwhich the lever will turn to throw the breech-piece to itsopenposition,and so that in the return of the lever the breechpiece will beirst thrown to its closed position, and then in the last part of theclosing movement of the lever the bolt will be brought into engagementwith the breech-piece so as to support it against recoil. Thisparticular arrangement of bolt, lever and breech-piece, is shown anddescribed in Letters Patent No. 306,577, grantedto J. M. Browning and M.S. Browning, October 14, 188i. In arms of this class having the carrierhung at the rear and so as to swing upward at its forward end, thecarrier necessarily presents the cartridge in an inclined position tothe line of the barrel; thatis, while the point of the cartridge is inline with the barrel, the head-end will be down considerably below theline of the barrel; hence, it is necessary that the rear end ofthecartridge shall rise as it advances into the barrel, in order to bringit into direct axial line with the barrel.

The object of the ist part of the invention is a simple adaptation ofthe lever to operate as a cam upon the carrier to impart to the carrierthe up and down swinging movenient.

The object of the second part of the inven- IOO tion is to raise therear end of the cartridge rapidly, so that immediately after the poi ntof the cartridge is inserted into the barrel, the rear end will beraised into av line substantially with the barrel, and forward of thefront face of the breech-piece, and the invention consists in theconstruction as hereinafter described and particularly recited in theclaims.

A, represents the receiver, to the forward end of which the barrel B, isattached, in the usual manner, and opens into the receiver at the rear.Below the barrel B, the magazine C, is arranged, also in the usualmanner, it opening into the receiver at the rear. The magazine isadapted to be charged with a series of cartridges, in the usual manner,so thatthe rear ends of the cartridges will be presented toward thereceiver, and so that they will be successively forced rearward as fortransfer to the barrel.

D, .represents the breechpiece, which is adapted to receive alongitudinalreciprocating movement to open and close the rear end of thebarrel. As here represented the breechpiece is operated by means of alever a,wl1ieh extends through the under side of the receiver, andterminates in a suitable handle form, by which the lever may be swung ina vertiealplane. The lever extendsinto the receiver, and is hinged by apivot b, directly to the breech-piece.

c, represen ts the vertically sliding bolt for locking-the breech-piece;in the closedposition this bolt stands in rear of ashoulder d inthebreech-piece, the same as in the patent before referred to, and as inthat patent a pair of such bolts may be employed if desired; The leveris connected to the bolt by-means ofafstud e, in the bolt, whicheX-tendsinto a slot f, in thc lever,andso that when the `parts are inthe closed position, as seen inFig.` l, the

stud oi' the bolt stands at the rear ofthe slot f. In the first part ofthe opening movement of the lever, the lever turns upon the pivot b, inthe breech-piece as a fulcrum, andthe slot f, of the lever operates uponthe stud @,-of the bolt as a cam, and so as to draw that bolt` down outof engagement with the breechpiece, as seen in broken lines Fig. Landafter the boltis so drawn down, then the stud e, in the slotf, operatesas the fu lcrum for the movement of the lever, so that the upper end ofthe lever will be thrown rearward, and cor-` respondingly move thebreech piece to theopen position seen in Fig. 8. Then when the lever isreturned, the breech-piece will be forced to the closed position, andthen in the completion of the closing movement of` the lever, the boltwill be thrown into the position of locking the breech-piece.Thearrangement and operation of the lever, breech-piece and bolt, arethe same as thatshown in the patent before referred to.

In the receiver below the breech-piece, the carrier E, is hung, upon apivot F, and so as to swing up and down as from the position in Fig. 8to that seen in Fig. 9. Normally the carrier stands in the downposition, its forward end toward the magazine, and its upper surface inline with the magazine, so that the rearmost cartridge of the magazinemay pass onto the carrier, as represented in Fig. l, G, representing thecartridge so standing on the carrier. The upward movement is imparted tothe carrier by means of a cam g, projecting from the forward side of thelevel', and which, at the proper time, is adapted to strike the underside of the carrier forward of the pivot upon which the carrier is hung.In the forward swinging movement of the lever, and during the last partof such forward movement and as the breech-piece approaches its extremerear position, the cam g, strikes the eorrespondingfpeint on the carrierfor ward of its pivot, and so that in the completion oftheforward'swinging movement of the lever the cam g, will cause the carrierto rise, as represented inbreken lines Fig. 8, thus giving to thecarrier a positive upward movement. Then as thelever returns, the cam g,passes away from the under side of the carrier, leavingthe carrier inthe raised position, andA until the breech-piece ap-v proaches itsclosed position, as seen in Fig. 9, at which time a bearing point h onthe lever above the projection g, will strike a corresponding point z',on the carrier, as'v seen in Fig. 9, and force the carrier'to the downposition, while the final movement of the breechpiece is beingcompleted, and before thclast part'ofthe closing movement off4 thelevercommencesto operate to throwthe boltf into engagement with thebreech-piece, and 'as represented'inbrokenlines Fig.I 9.y The carrier isprovided with a spring-bolt 7c, projecting laterally from one side, andwhich is adapted' to'engage a corresponding notch Z, in theinside of thereceiver when the breech-piece is in the-down position, andasl seen inFig. l0, or to escapetherefrom when the carrier is raised and engageasimilar notch mabove when the `carrier is in the lup position as seen.lin Fig. 1l; this latch servestohold thecarrier in the two positionsafter the leverfshall` lhave moved out ofengagement therewith.

l lseen in Fig. 3, the cartridge G, stands in an inclinedA position withrelation to the axis of ,lthe barrel, or so as to present the forwardlend of the cartridge substantially inV rear of the open end of thebarrel, while vthe rear end vof 'the cartridge will have been raised sofar as to stand with its upper portion forward of the `face of thebreech-piece, or some part of the breech-piece, inorder that as thebreechpiece isadvanced while the carrier and eartridge are in thisposition,A the advancing breech-piece will imparta forward movementtothe cartridge, asfrom theposition seen in Fig. 3, to that seen inbroken lines in the same figure. In this position it will be observedthat the point of the cartridge has entered the barrel, butv yet therear end of the car- VVhen the carrier lis in thefraised position astridge is far below the axial line of the barrel; consequently as thecartridge is advanced it must rise to get into line with the barrel, andin absence of other provision to the contrary, this rise of the rear ofthe cartridge will depend upon the movement of the forward end of thecartridge in the cartridge chamber in the barrel. To produce the risingof the rear end of the cartridge to bring it into line with the barrel,without thus depending upon the movement of the cartridge in thecartridge chamber, the receiver is constructed with a longitudinal ribI, on each side, which stands above the cartridge when the receiver isin the down position, the distance between the faces of the two ribsbeing greater than that of the diameter of the cartridge, as seen inFig. 7. These ribs are in position so that as the cartridge is raised bythe carrier to the position seen in Fig. 3, the head will strike theunder side or over-hanging portion J, of the ribs, and thus be preventedfrom throwing upward under the momentum which will be given to thecartridge by the rising of the carrier; but this .position ot' thecartridge brings it forward of a portion of the open breech-piece, sothat when the breech-piece is moved forward, it will strike the head ofthe cartridge as seen in Fig. 3, and then as the breech-piece advances,it will move the cartridge forward beneath the over-hanging portions J,of the ribs, to the position seen in broken lines, Fig-3. At this point,thereis an opening K, upward through the ribs, of a width equal to, orsomewhat greater than the diameter of the head of the cartridge. Theforward sides of these openings or recesses, K, in the ribs, areinclined upward and forward as seen at L, Fig. 2, and so that as thecartridge is carried so far forward as to bring its head into therecesses K, the cartridge will have passed beyond the control of theover.- hanging portions J, of the ribs, and so that it may rise throughthe openings K, and as the breech-piece continues its forward movement,the flange ofthe cartridge strikes the inclined forward surfaces of therecesses K, in the ribs, and which incline operates as a cam upon theadvancing cartridge, to cause the rear end of the advancing cartridge torise rapidly, as indicated in Fig. 4. Forward of the recesses K, in theribs, the space between the ribs is such as to permit the body of thecartridge to pass freely up between them, but is less than the diameterof the head of the cartridge, and so that after the head of thecartridge has passed by the inclines L, the head will be supported ontheupper side of the ribs, and in substantially axial line with the barrel,as represented in the upper position, Fig. 4.

By the employment of the recesses K, having the inclined forwardsurfaces L, over which the cartridges rise, the rear end of thecartridge is brought up to this axial position by a very slightlongitudinal movement of the cartridge, much more rapidly than could beproduced where the entrance of the cartridge into the barrel itself isdepended upon to produce this rise of the rear end of the cartridge, andvery much of the friction which is occasioned by the advance movement ofthe cartridge under the action of the advancing breech-piece, Whe-redependence is had solely upon the engagement of the cartridge with thebarrels to raise the rear end of the cartridge, is avoided, andconsequently less liability of the blocking of the cartridge under rapidfiring.

While the arrangement of the lever and its construction with the camupon its forward side to strike the under side of the carrier forward ofits pivot, and so as to raise the carrier in the opening movement of thelever, are specially applicable to the particular arm shown anddescribed, it will be clear to those skilled in the construction and useof firearms, and without illustration, that the locking of thebreech-piece by means of the vertically movable bolt, is not essentialto such construction and operation of the lever, as other breech lockingdevices lnay be employed.

While the devices shown and described for raising the rear end of thecartridge as it advances toward the barrel, are specially applicable tothe mechanism described for operating the breech-piece and carrier, itwill be evident to those skilled in the art that the same cartridgeelevating devices may be ernployed in connection with a verticallyswinging carrier,with other breech and carrier operating mechanism. Thispart of the invention is therefore not to be understood as limited toany particular mechanism for operating the breech-piece or carrier.

I am aware that overhanging ribs in the carrier, to prevent thecartridge from being thrown upward under the momentum imparted to it bythe raising of the carrier, are very old, and I do not claim broadlysuch ribs, but

Vhat I do claim as my invention is* 1. In a magazine fire-arm in whichthe magazineis arranged below the barrel, and both the barrel andmagazine open into the receiver at the rear, the combination therewithof a carrier hung upon a pivot at the rear, and so as to swing in avertical plane, a lever hinged by one end to the breech-piece andextending downward and rearward through the receiver to form a handlebelow, said lever being adapted in such swinging movement to impartlongitudinal movement to the breechpiece, the lever constructed with acam upon its forward side adapted to engage the carrier forward of itspivot during the last part of the forward or opening movement of thelever, substantially as described.

2. In a magazine tire-arm in which the magazine is arranged below thebarrel and both the barrel and magazine open into the receiver at therear, the combination therewith of a carrier hung in the receiver upon apivot at the rear and so as to swing in a vertical plane, a

position, the lever constructedE W-itlra caml` upon its forwardsideadaptedto engage the carrier forwardofv its'- pivotv during' the last'part'of theforward orfopening movementV of the lever, substantially asAdescribed;-`

3. In a magazine fire'darmfin which' the maga zi ne is arranged belowthebarrel, and both the barrel'and 'magazine open l`into the receiver'atthe rear; thecombinationtherewithoa car*- rierhungnin the receiver'`upon a pivotlat the rear, and so'asto Swingin ,averticalf plane, au.

longitudinal reciprocating breeelrpiece, ya 1everL hinged `by one end-totlie v-breeclrpiecefand extending,downward4 and? rearward' throughthe receiver to form a handle below, avertilr callymovable boltlarranged in the' receiver, and adapted lto engagethe breech-pieceirritsclosed position, the saldi' lever hinged tothe saidbolt by-ahslotconnection sothat thei'rstfy part of' the opening `movementlloitheleverwill withdraw 'theboltffrom its-engaged'posi I tion,I the lever4constructed witlra cam upon 1"itsforward side adapted to engage thecarrier jforward'of its pivotdnring the last partof the yforward'oropening movement' of the lever, andthe lever constructed with abearing on itsforwardfsurface forward of. said cam, and .adaptedto'bearupon ai corresponding point 'onftheupper side of thecarrier forward ofthe pivoton which the carrier is hung, substantially `as and for'thepurpose described.

4l In a'magazin-eiirc-'arnn' having the magazinearrangedlbelow'fthe'barrel, and both the ibarrel and themagazine'openinginto the receiveratV therein', with a lcmgitudinall yrecipfrocating breech-piece and 'a carrier pivoted at Sth'e rear `toSwingin a'vertical plane, Ithe com bination therewithoi` ribs'longitudinally arranged lin-the sides of the receiver, inI aposition'above thecartridgeon the carrier, the said ribs 'distant from each otherless than the diameterofthe cartridge-head; and the fribs"constructed'ywith' recessesl K, through whichtli'e'hea'ds' ofA the cartridges mayrise, the forward endsroldsaid recesses constructed Ito fformi upwardandrforwardinclines- L, substantially as and'fr 'the vpurpose-described. j [n` testimony Vwhereof I have signedv this specification fin the presence of twoV subscribingwitnesses. JOHN M3 BROWNING.

Witnesses:

Jos. W. WIL'COX;

J OHN RAMSDEN.

